Sewing machine



Feb. 5, 1946. o. R. HAAS SEWING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1944 2 sheetssheec 1 -EUBTIW Feb. 5, 1946. o, HAA'S 1 2,394,171

' SEWING MACHiNE Filed Jan. 29, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 5, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

SEWING MACHINE.

Otto R. Haas, Beverly, Mass., assignorto United- Shoe Machinery" Corporation, Flemington, N 1.; a corporationzoiNew Jersey Application January 29, 1944,1Serial No.520,259.

10 Claims The present invention. relates to improvements in machines for sewing the corner seams of leather bags or like articles, the parts of which are secured together by stitches passing through their. abutting dges at an. inclinationto both the adjoining faces of the completed bag or article, and is hereinafter illustratedas embodied in a bag sewing machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent .No... 1,614,444, granted January 11, 1927, upon'an application filed in the name of Robert G. Reid et al.

The object of the invention is to provide in a bag corner sewing machine, a novel and improved construction and arrangement for supporting the work with the parts in correct sewing relationship, without the necessity, of making complicated or extensive adjustments in the machine requiring the services of an experienced and skillful operator. Other objects are to provide a bag corner sewing machine with' a work support of generally more simple and effective construction-than heretofore and to avoid difli culties ordinarily encountered in the use of prior machines for sewing corners of bags or similar articles.

In the operation of bag corner type sewing machines, particularly those intended for operation upon thick, heavy materials requiring the use of a curved hook needle and an awl to penetrate the required thicknesses of adjacent bag parts, it is desirable to present the unsewed corner of a bag to the stitch forming devices in such a way that the stitches will be inserted as deeply as possible within the material operated upon without breaking through into the inner corner of the completed bag to expose the threads of the stitches. Where light-weight materials are utilized in order to prevent deflection of the parts and improper insertion of the stitches during sewing, it is necessary to support the bag parts as closely as possible about the point of operation of the needle and awl. It is the usual practice, therefore, to provide a work support having angul'arly disposed surfaces and close-fitting needle and awl receiving openings. To render the machine effective for difierent thicknesses of work, the work support is mounted for adjustment toward and from the needle and awl paths and, in order to obtain the best results, the work support must be carefully adjusted with'respect to the needle and awl paths for each change in work thickness, it being necessary, in actual practice, to sew several sample corners after an adjustment has been made for the purpose of ascertaining. the bestv possible location of the. work support surfaces; Frequently, the adjustments.

are ofia complicated nature requiring man-y slight changes inpositionof the support before a .bag besewed. successfully. A. substantial, amount ,oftime and the exercise of unusualskill onthe part of the. operator .may be required for theseadjustments, particularly where the .bag being sewed is composed. of two parts having different. thicknesses.

To avoi'dthese difficulties and in the attainment ofthe several objects of the present inven-- tion,..the. illustrated embodiment thereof resides ina work support for. a bag corner sewing machine inv which the edge and side surface abutting'bag parts are held 'inplace by relatively adjustabl'elmembers, the movement of one of which is so guided that, regardlessv of "adjust merits, theflexposed threads in the stitches will beinserted at the desired location ontheside of thebag part whichjengages it without changing the\ location of. the exposed threads inthe stitches on the other part of the bag for. any adjustment of the worksupport. The adjust; able members of the work support are so ar ranged that oversize needle and awl "receiving openings in the members are not required; Thus; simple and effective adjustments may be made in the worksupp'ort for sewing bags of different shapes and sizes or having partsof varying thick-' nesses with an assurance that workmanlike resuits may be obtained immediately following adjustments without resorting toxa time andmaterial consuming process of trial and error;

These .and other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanyifng drawings, in which:

Fig... 1. is a view inv side. elevation. and partly in section. oi those-parts of a lockstitch hook needle 'sewingcmachine embodying the work supporting means andfeatures of. adjustment of the present invention; the corner of a bag being illustrated. in

section :atca sewing position onthe-supporting means;

Fig.2 isla viewsimilar to Fig. 1, with. additional partsv broken away andshown in'section, illustrating'. adjustments 'of. the .vvork supporting means different from those of Fig. the material of one of the illustrated bag parts being thicker than that showninFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view of the work supporting means illustrated in 1, looking in'the direction of the arrow III of that figure;

Fig; 4 is another viewof the same parts, looking in a direction at right angles to the arrow in Fi 1;

Fig. 5 is a. perspective view of the abutment members of the work supporting means, showing a portion of a bag in sewing position thereon;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the abutment members for the work supporting means; 3

Fig. 7:15 a detail perspective view of the other abutment member for the work supporting means;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of a work engaging plate of the first-mentioned abutment member; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of the bag, looking from the outside;

The illustrated sewing machine is a lockstitch curved needle machine for uniting the edges of a heavy leather or other tough material to form a bag corner, illustrated in Fig. 9. The machine has a construction and mode of operation substantially the same as that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,169,909, granted February 1, 1916, upon an application filed in the name of FredAshworth, and in the Reid et al. patent above referred to. As in the Reid et al. patented machine, the work support of the illustrated machine has work engaging abutments formed with adjacent external faces disposed at an angle of 90 to each other. To clamp the bag parts in positionon the work support, the machine is equipped with a work supporting horn, not shown, similar to that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,695,718, granted December 18, 1928, upon an application filed in the names of Fred Ricks and Robert G. Reid. In some instances, the bag being operated upon is presented to the work support with its parts mounted upon a form or frame similar. to that disclosed in the Reid et' a1. patent above referred to. The machine is also provided with a curved hook needle 2, a work penetrating and feeding awl 4, and other stitch forming devices similar to those in the patents.

fore, must be formed in these surfaces to clear the needle path and, as a result, their size may be such that insufficient support is provided when relatively thin work is operated upon.

To enable corners of bags, the parts of which are composed of different thicknesses of material, to be sewn satisfactorily without the exercise of special skill or ability by theoperator or loss of time and expenditure of effort in adjusting the work support of the machine, while at the same time providing adequate support for the bag parts adjacent to the needle path, the machine embodying the present invention is provided withga two-part work support having relatively movable abutments with work supporting surfaces disposed at right angles and formed with needle and awl receiving slots 6 and 8 fitting closely with the The machine of the Reid et al. patent is entirely I satisfactory in its operation while sewing together bag parts having uniform thickness in which the end surface of one part abuts the side marginal surface of another part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces. When the parts operated upon have a thickness greater than usual, unless adjustments are made to prevent it, the thickness of the side abutting part will hold the abutting surface of the end abutting partentirely out of the paths of the needle and awl, or at least will cause the stitches to be inserted at an insecure depth in the end of the end needle path where necessary. Adjustments for making these changes must be made carefully and require the expenditure of valuable time and effort for satisfactory results. Furthermore, bag parts or test pieces of material operated upon may be wasted during a necessary process of trial and error required in determining the adjustments best suited for the thicknesses operated upon.

Also, in the patented machine, the apex of the.

angle between the work supporting surfaces of the Work support is movable with relation to the needle path. Suitable enlarged openings, theresizes of the needle and awl 2 and 4. The abutments are so mounted that proper adjustments are insured for satisfactory sewing operations on difierent thicknesses of materials, the needle and awl receiving slots being always centered in alinement with the needle and awl paths.

Referring to the drawings, the abutments of the work support are indicated at In and I2, and the abutment I0 is located for movement on the abutment l2 along the work supporting surface of the abutment l2 to enable the work engaging surface of the abutmentjfl to be moved toward and from the slot 8 in the abutment [2.

It is apparent that for the thickness of material, indicated in Fig. l, the position of a bag corner as presented to the needle and awl while the bag is being guided on the work support will produce a satisfactory seam, the stitches of which will be suitably embedded in the material of the parts operated upon to form a secure connection. If, however, the thickness of the side surface abutting part, indicated at M, is substantially increased to that illustrated by the dot-dash line of Fig. 1, then the end abutting part IE will be held out of the needle path or will be presented to the machine in such a way that an insecure seam will be formed. In order to avoid this difficulty, the abutment IE1 is moved upwardly along the work engaging surface of the abutment I2 away from the needle slot 8 to provide a greater distance between the abutment i0 and the slot 8 in the abutment 12, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Thus, the bag corner will be presented to the needle and awl at a' position where the stitches will be inserted more deeply in the material at the end-surface of the end abutting part 66 and at the same time be located at least as deeply within the substance of the side abutting part [4. Where a substantial increase in thickness occurs, however, while the position of the abutment I0 is being changed, the needle slot 6 may be carried away from the path of the needle so that a further change may be required in the position of the abutment l0 before the needle and awl may operate properly.

To enable a further change to be made in the position of the needle slot 6 of the abutment H) to center the slot 6 with respect to the needle path without changing the position of the slot 8 relatively to the needle path, the entire work support is guided for arcuate movement about the slot 8 as a center, thus causing the slot 6, when abutment i0 is moved, to swing until it coincides with the needle path without moving the slot 8 out of the needle path. With these two simple adjustments, changes in materials operated upon may be accommodated for a wide variation of thicknesses without interfering with the operation of the machine or requiring careful or skillful manipulations to be made during adjustments;

To support and guide the abutment it) along the work engaging surface of the abutment 12 toward and from the needle receiving slot'8 in the abutment E2, the abutment I2 is transversely slotted and provided with rectilinear side guideway surfaces Iii. Projecting beneath the lower surface of the abutment i2 and engaging opposite-rectilinear surfaces l3 thereof are two sides of a'hollow rectangular slide 20 from which'the abutment ill projects upwardly at right angles, the central section of the slide being cut out to receive a downwardly extending portion on the abutment 12 for purposes to be described-hereinafter. The guideway surfaces I 8 insure a rectilinear movement of the abutment Hi along the work supporting surface of the abutment 12 so as to provide greater space between the abutment til-and the needle receiving slot 8, for thicker work, and to enable the abutment to be moved closer to the needle receiving slot 8, with thinner work. Thus, it is possible to insert stitches in the part It of a bag with threads exposed at a uniform distance from the abutting end of the part it, regardless of the relative thickness of the side abutting bag part M.

To prevent distortion of the bag part and to provide support for the edge of the bag part [4 along the apex formed by the work engaging surfaces of the abutments, the abutment l2 has an integral tongue 22 sliding within side grooves 24 in a cut-away portion of the abutment ii). The tongue 22 is made with sufiicient length to project rearwardly behind the work engaging surface of the abutment Ill with any adjustment of the relative positions of the abutments.

The abutments l and 12 of the work support are mounted upon and are adjustably clamped in fixed relation to a U-shaped bracket 26 formed with arcuate arms carried by the frame of the sewing machine indicated at 28'. To clamp the abutments in fixed position on the bracket 26, a machine screw 30 passes through the slot 29 in the abutment i2 and is received within a threaded opening in'the bracket 28. Asa further means for preventing displacement of the abutment If], the. sides of the slide are provided with flanges 3 I underlying the abutment I2 so that, when the screw 30 is tightened, both abutments will be clamped to the bracket 28.

The arcuate arms on the bracket 28 form slides moving within correspondingly shaped grooves or. guideways 32 in the frame 28, the center of curvature of the slides being located in the needle, receiving. slot 8 of the abutment l2. To secure the bracket in adjusted position on the machine frame 28, the machine frame has arcuate slots, one of which is indicated at 34 to receive pairs of paced bolts 36. When the bolts are loosened and the arcuate slides moved in their guideways, the needle receiving slot 6 may be moved into alinement with the path of the needle and awl without changing the position of the slot 8.

In certain types of Work, curved contours may be encountered, as illustrated in Fig. 9, requiring a convex surface on one of the abutments to fit within a concavity of one face of the bag. To render the machine readily adaptable for sewing different contours and curvatures of bag faces, the abutment H1 has a convex work engaging plate '38 screwed to its front faceand the abutment is cut away behind-the plate with an opening sufiiciently large to -clear the stitch forming devices duringsewi-ng operations. With an end abutting bag part IEIof greater thickness than that illustratedin Fig. 1 of the drawings, it is preferable to employ a plate 38 onthe abutment H! with a needlereceiving slot 6 located further away from the abutment :12 than is illustrated, to enable the stitches to be inserted at sufficient depth in the material. By utilizing a removable platein-which the slot 6 is formed, difsupport abutments I0 and I2 are made with sufiicient length and are located to insure that the feeding movement of the awl will readily be accommodated without employing slots of excessive length. In the illustrated machine, the slots G and 8 are-so arranged that, during-the-pene trating stroke of the awl, the awl will pass close to the right ends of the slots-and, durin-gfeed, the awl will move into line with the needle, bringing the awl'close to the left ends of the'slo-ts. Thus, the slots will be located centrally of the work'feeding movement of the awl in order to provide a maximum possible support for the parts of-the-bag surrounding the sewing point.

To facilitate locating the slots centrally of the feeding movement of the awl; the abutment 12 has a slide portion 40 (seeFig; 7) along its lower surface passing through the-cut-out section of the abutment l0 and engaging a groove 42 in the bracket 26. The slide portion 49 and the guideway formed by the groove 42 are so arranged as to extend in'a directionparallel to the feeding movement of the work and to the lengthwise dimension: of the needle and awl receiving slots in the abutments. When the clamping screw 35 is loosened, the abutments: may be moved as a unit to locate the needle and awl' receiving slots 6' and 8 in the desired position along the line of the seam, the slot through which the screw 30 passes being of sufficient length to accommodate this adjusting movement. Thus, the work support abutments t0 and 'I2 are secured on the brackets andin fixed position relatively to each other against movement in two directions by the single clamping screw 30.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and an embodiment of the several features in their preferred form having been specifically described, what is claimed is:

1.-In a machineforsewing the corners of a bag or similar article having an end surface of one part abutting the side marginal surface of another-part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, ofm-eans for externally supporting the work pa-rts operated upon with bothfaces adjacent a corner at an inclination to and intersected by the needle path, comprising abutments having angularly disposed work engaging surfaces formed-with close fitting needle receiving openings to prevent distortion of the work parts while inserting sti'tches and adjustable means for securing one of the abutments in fixed position reiatively'to the other during sewing operations, the abutments being constructed and guided to cause the exposed threads of each seam to be located at a 'predetermined distance from the end of the end abutting part when different thicknesses'of the side abutting part require change in the positions of the abutments.

2. In a machine for sewing the corners of a bag or similar article having an end surface of one part abutting the side marginal surface of another part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, of means for externally supporting the work .parts operated upon with both faces adjacent a corner at an inclination to and intersected by the needle path, comprising abutments having angularly disposed work engaging surfaces formed with close fitting needle receiving openings to prevent distortion of the work parts while inserting stitches, means for adjustably securing one of the abutments relatively to the other toenable the exposed threads of each seam to be located at a predetermined distance from the end of the end abutting part when the thickness of the side abutting part is changed, and a swinging mounting for the work supporting means for securing the supporting means in any of a, number of angular positions centered about the needle opening in one of said abutments, to enable insertion ,of stitches with exposed threads located at a predetermined distance from the end of the side abutting part when the thickness of the side abutting part is changed.

3. In a machine for sewing the corners of a bag or similar article having an end surface of one part abutting the side marginal surface of another part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, of means for externally supporting the work parts operated upon with both faces adjacent a corner at an inclination to and intersected by the needle path, comprising relatively fixed abutments having angularly disposed work engaging surfaces formed with needle receiving openings fitting closely with the size of the needle to prevent distortion of the work parts while inserting stitches, rectilinear guiding means for the first abutment disposed to direct movement of the first abutment toward or away from the needle receiving opening in the second and along the work supporting surface of the second, and means for clamping the first abutment in adjusted position relatively to the second abutment.

4. In a machine for sewing the corners of a bag or similar article having an end surface of one part abutting the side marginal surface of another part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, of means for externally supporting the work parts operated upon with both faces adjacent a corner at an inclination to and intersected by the needle path, comprising relatively fixed abutments having angularly disposed work engaging surfaces formed with needle receiving openings fitting closely with the size of the needle to prevent distortion of the work parts while inserting stitches, rectilinear guiding means for the first abutment disposed to direct movement of the first abutment toward or away from the needle receiving opening in the second and along the'work supporting surface of the second, and

a curved 'guideway for the work supporting means centered about the needle receiving opening in the second abutment, to enable the needle receiving opening in the first abutment after movement to be brought into line with the needle path.

5. In a machine for sewing the corners of a bag or similar article having an end surface of one part abutting the side marginal surface of another part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, of means for externally supporting the work parts operated upon with both faces adjacent a corner at an inclination to and intersected by the needle path, comprising relatively fixed abutments having angularly disposed work engaging surfaces formed with needle receiving openings fitting closely with the size of the needle to prevent distortion of the work parts while inserting stitches, rectilinear guiding means for the first abutment disposed to direct movement of the firstabutment toward or away from the needle receiving opening in the second and along the work supporting surface of the second, and a work supporting projection on the second abutment extending rearwardly behind the work engaging surface of the first abutment opposite the'point of needle operation to prevent distortion of the work parts at the apex formed by the abutments in any adjusted position of the first abutment.

6. In a machine for sewing the corners of a bag or similar article having an end surface of one part abutting the side marginal surface of another part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, of means for externally supporting the work parts operated upon with both faces adjacent a corner at an inclination to and intersected by the needle path, comprising relatively fixed abutments having angularly disposed work engaging surfaces formed with needle receiving openings fitting closely with the size of the needle to prevent distortion of the work parts while inserting stitches, rectilinear guiding means for the first abutment disposed to direct movement of the first abutment toward or away from the needle receiving opening in the second and along the work suporting surface of the second, and a convex piate secured to the first abutment, to enable sewing curved concave corners in the work.

'7. In a machine for sewing the corners of a bag or similar article having an end surface of one part abutting the side marginal surface of another part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, of means for externally supporting the work parts operated upon with both faces adjacent a corner at an inclination to and intersected by the needle path, comprising relatively fixed abutments having angularly disposed work engaging surfaces formed with needle receiving openings fitting closely with the size of the needle to prevent distortion of the work parts while inserting stitches, rectilinear guiding means on the second abutment for the .ing in said second abutment.

8. In a machine for sewing the corners of a bag or similar article having an end surface of one part abutting the side marginal surface of another part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces, the combination with stitch forming devices including a needle, of means for externally supporting the work parts operated upon with both faces adjacent a corner at an inclination to and intersected by the needle path, comprising abutments having angularly disposed work engaging surfaces, a bracket for supporting the abutments, and a single clamping means for securing the abutments in fixed positions relatively to each other and to the supporting bracket.

9. In a machine for sewing the corner of a bag or similar article having an end surface of one part abutting the side marginal surface of another part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces, the combination with a main frame and stitch forming devices in the frame including a needle, of means for externally supporting the work parts operated upon with both faces adjacent a corner at an inclination to and intersected by the needle path, comprising abutments having angularly disposed work engaging surfaces formed with needle receiving openings fitting closely with the size of the needle to prevent distortion of the work parts while inserting stitches, rectilinear guiding means on the second abutment for the first abutment for directing movement of the first abutment along the surface of the second abutment toward and from the needle receiving opening in the second abutment, a bracket to which the second abutment is clamped, and a curved guideway in the frame for supporting the bracket for movement transversely of the seam line about an arc centered in the needle opening of said second abutment.

10. In a machine for sewing the corner of a bag or similar article having an end surface of one part abutting the side marginal surface of another part with stitches disposed at an angle to the abutting surfaces, the combination with a main frame and stitch forming devices including a work feeding and penetrating instrument, of means for externally supporting the work parts operated upon with both faces adjacent the corner at an inclination to and intersected by the needle path, comprising abutments having angularly disposed work engaging surfaces formed with work penetrating instrument receiving slots fitting closely with the size of the work penetrating instrument to enable feeding movement of the said instrument while preventing distortion of the work parts during insertion of stitches, guiding means on the second abutment for the first abutment arranged to direct movement of the first abutment substantially parallel to the surface of the second abutment toward and from the slot in the second abutment, a bracket having a guideway for the second abutment extending parallel to the slot in the second abutment to enable the position of the slot to be located centrally of the work feeding movement of the penetrating instrument, means for clamping the second abutment to the guideway, and a curved guideway in the frame for supporting the bracket .for movement about an are centered in the slot of the second abutment to enable the slot in the first abutment to be brought into line with the path of the work penetrating instrument transversely of the seam line.

OTTO R. HAAS. 

